Los Angeles Bolts
The '''Los Angeles Bolts '''are a virtual American football team that plays in the United Football League, and play in the Pacific Conference as a member of the Pacific Conference Coastal Division. The team was founded in 2014, as have been owned by Harold Raymoore since their inception. The Bolts have won one league championship and one Pacific Conference championship, both in 2015. Since 2018, the Los Angeles Bolts have been members of the Pacific Conference Coastal Division, but have never won the Pacific Conference Coastal Division championship in their franchise history. The team has made the postseason four times, with those postseason berths taking place in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019. The Bolts have only missed the postseason twice, in 2014 and 2017. Since their inception, the Bolts have been coached by Eric Decker, who has earned a 23-23 record over his tenure as the team's head coach, as well as a league championship in 2015. During the 2018 UFL offseason, the Bolts would hire Dale Cosner and Earl Hoffman to serve as the team's Offensive Coordinator and Defensive Coordinator respectively, as well as hire Elijah Marcus to serve as the team's General Manager. History Inception and first League Championship (2014-2015) Before the start of the UFL's inaugural season, the Bolts hired NFL Tight End Eric Decker to coach the Los Angeles Bolts, and Decker's first move with control of the Bolts roster would be to sign quarterback Jason Eason to lead the offense going forward into the first week of play in the UFL. Despite a promising start to the season, with Jason Eason leading the Bolts to a 2-2 record, the Bolts would drop the final two games of the season to miss the postseason with a 2-4 record, falling to the second-worst record in the league. Despite the disappointing conclusion to the season, the Bolts would re-sign Jason Eason to an extension throughout 2019 to remain the starting quarterback of the Los Angeles Bolts. The re-signing of Eason would prove to be the right decision and pay off for the team immensely, as the Bolts would finish the 2015 campaign with a league-best 5-1 record, earning the top seed in the Pacific Conference going into the first playoff berth in franchise history. Following a victory in the Pacific Conference Championship Game, the Los Angeles Bolts would meet the Atlantic Conference champion New York Sentinels in the league championship game, where Jason Eason would throw for over 400 yards on route to a victory to give the Los Angeles Bolts their first league championship in franchise history. After a successful showing during the 2015 UFL Season, the Los Angeles Bolts would re-sign head coach Eric Decker to a new deal throughout 2018 to remain as the head coach for the franchise. Post-League Championship and Struggles (2016-2018) Following their league championship victory during the 2015 UFL Season, the Los Angeles Bolts would reload during the 2015 UFL offseason before beginning their follow-up campaign. Despite being favored to repeat as the league champions, Jason Eason and the Los Angeles Bolts would finish the season with a 4-2 record, only good enough for the third and final seed in the Pacific Conference postseason picture. Despite a strong showing during the Pacific Conference Wildcard Round, the Los Angeles Bolts would fall to the second-seeded and eventual league champion Vegas Demons in the Wildcard Round, ending their season. However; the Los Angeles Bolts would remain favored to return to the postseason and contend for the league championship going into the 2017 UFL Season. With hope that the 2017 UFL Season would see the Bolts return to league championship glory, the team would stagger out of the gate, eventually finishing the season with a 1-5 record, tied for the league-worst alongside the 1-5 expansion franchise Detroit Stingers and the 1-5 expansion franchise Vancouver Outlaws, missing the playoffs for the first time since their inaugural season. Following the disappointing 2017 campaign, Jason Eason would still be signed to an extension to remain the starting quarterback of the Bolts going into the 2018 UFL Season. With hopes of rebounding back into playoff contention in the 2018 UFL Season on hand, the Los Angeles Bolts would receive the first pick in the 2018 UFL Draft, and they would use that pick to draft former Holy Cross and UCAA multi-time champion halfback Mark August, who was expected to be a generational-talent in the UFL at the halfback position for the Los Angeles Bolts. Despite high hopes during the 2018 campaign, the Los Angeles Bolts would finish the season with a 2-4 record, earning the fifth and final playoff spot in the Pacific Conference postseason picture, with rookie halfback Mark August struggling to adjust to Eric Decker's offense and the UFL style of play. Despite being favored to lose to the 2-4 Seattle Avengers in the Pacific Conference Wildcard Round, the Bolts would pull off an upset to advance to the Pacific Conference Divisional Round, where they would be eliminated from the postseason by the top-seeded and eventual league champion Tampa Silverstars. Final Years of the Jason Eason era and Trading Mark August (2018-2019) Following a disappointing campaign during 2018, the Bolts would continue to show faith in starting quarterback Jason Eason, allowing him to remain the starting quarterback during the team's 2019 UFL Season. After a slow start out of the gate, the Bolts would bench Jason Eason in favor of then-AAF quarterback Mike Bercovici to run the offense, which would allow them to improve going towards the end of the season, which would see the Bolts finish with a 9-7 record to earn the fifth and final spot in the Pacific Conference postseason picture. However; former first-round draft pick Mark August would not be involved in the Bolts' playoff push, as he would be traded to the St. Louis Eagles following Week 8 of the 2019 UFL Season, ending his lackluster year-and-a-half tenure with the Bolts. Despite a promising start in the Pacific Conference Wildcard Round, the Bolts would fall to the eventual league champion Arizona Copperheads to end their season in disappointment. Following the 2019 UFL Season, the Bolts would confirm that they would be sticking with Mike Bercovici going into the 2020 UFL Season, allowing Jason Eason to leave the team during the 2019 UFL Free Agency period, eventually signing to become the starting quarterback of the Vegas Demons. Despite the promise to roll with Mike Bercovici for the 2020 UFL Season, the Los Angeles Bolts would use their second round pick in the 2020 UFL Draft to select quarterback Evan Orth, bringing him in as Mike Bercovici's backup quarterback as he learned the playbook, though also adding pressure onto Bercovici to deliver as the quarterback of the team in order to keep from being benched in favor of Orth later in the 2020 UFL Season.